Folger Theatre opens its 2024-25 season with William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Raymond O. Caldwell directs the famous tragedy of star-crossed lovers against

Folger Theatre announces the opening of its 2024-25 season with William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by award-winning director and producer Raymond O. Caldwell, on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library, October 1–November 10, 2024. Framed within the Folger Shakespeare Library’s timely seasonal theme of Whose Democracy?, an exploration of political power and civic participation, this staging situates the world’s most famous romantic tragedy in a politically fraught, slightly fictionalized version of Washington DC.

In a nod to our current election cycle, Caldwell’s fresh interpretation of star-crossed lovers marries the “uncivil strife” of Shakespeare’s Verona and the polarized political landscape of our nation’s capital. With the Capulets and Montagues envisioned as political rivals during a contested election season, this production delves into the politics of division and the violent consequences that arise when the systems designed to protect and guide society’s youth—familial, religious, and governmental—fail catastrophically.

“As I began conceptualizing this production of Romeo and Juliet for the Folger, the nerd in me was inspired to imagine a modern Shakespearean ‘metaverse,’” says director Raymond O. Caldwell (Blood at the Root at Theater Alliance and Passing Strange at Signature Theatre). “My brilliant team of collaborators and I are carefully crafting a universe that is both distant yet familiar to our nation’s capital in 2024. Here, we are encouraging audiences to grapple with how wealth, class, substance abuse, mass media consumption, politics, and tribalism shape our capacity for love and exacerbate violence.”

As the young lovers navigate their world of chaos and conflict, Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet invites audiences to reflect on Generation Z’s place in conversations about love, power, and the future, making it a resonant exploration of democracy in crisis. “This production is Euphoria meets Succession by way of a Shakespearean theatricality viewed through the lens of the current political moment in America, offering a space for us to question how far we’d go for love,” continues Caldwell.

“Through Shakespeare, sometimes, we hear and see each other better,” says Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Director of Programming and Performance and Artistic Director of Folger Theatre. “Romeo and Juliet is an opportunity for us to stop and think about the next generation as we enter this hyper-political and often divisive season in our country. Where’s the love? Can we recognize and choose love in a world that is so polarized, so distracted, so numb, and lacking empathy? Will we let love lead us? Or will we allow politics to drive us to the edge? I think these are questions the next generation is thinking about and this production is going to bring the passion and hope that only young people can bring to our world.”

Bringing the iconic young lovers to life are Cole Taylor (Romeo) and Caro Reyes Rivera (Juliet), both making their Folger debuts. Todd Scofield (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and Fran Tapia (Folger Theatre debut) take on the roles of Lord and Lady Capulet, Juliet’s conflicted parents, in the throes of a hotly contested political campaign. The Montague family features Tony Nam (Much Ado About Nothing) as Lord Montague and Renee Elizabeth Wilson (last seen on the Folger stage this spring in Metamorphoses) as Lady Montague. Rounding out the cast are Giovanna Alcântara Drummond (Folger Theatre debut) and John Floyd (Our Verse in Time to Come) as close, loyal confidants of Romeo; Alina Collins Maldonado (King John) as the fiery Tybalt; Luz Nicholas (Folger Theatre debut) as Juliet’s devoted Nurse; Brandon Carter (Folger Theatre debut) as the well-intentioned Friar Lawrence; Deidra LaWan Starnes (Amadeus) as the Prince and Chorus; and Gabriel Alejandro (The Cuban Vote) as the romantic rival Paris.

The creative team includes the talents of Helen Hayes Award-winning choreographer Tiffany Quinn (Theater Alliance’s Blood at the Root), scenic designer Jonathan Dahm Robertson (Signature Theatre’s Passing Strange and Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre), Helen Hayes award-winning costume designer Jeannette Christensen (Our Verse in Time to Come), Helen Hayes Award-winning lighting designer Alberto Segarra (Solas Nua’s The Honey Trap), Helen Hayes Award-winning composer and sound designer Matthew M. Nielson (The Winter’s Tale and A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Helen Hayes Award-winning projection and multimedia designer Kelly Colburn (Theater Alliance’s Blood at the Root). The team also includes Amy Kellett (Props Designer), Caleen Sinnette Jennings (Adaptor), Carla Della Gatta (Dramaturg), Rosa Garay López (Translator and Interpreter), Robb Hunter (Fight Choreographer), Kaja Dunn (Resident Intimacy Director), Kate Murray CSA (New York Casting Director), Tori Schuchmann (Production Stage Manager), and Ebony Gennes (Assistant Stage Manager).

Folger Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet is on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library from October 1 – November 10, 2024. Tickets are available online at www.folger.edu/rj or by calling the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

Ticket Information & Performance Dates:

Romeo and Juliet is on stage at Folger Theatre from October 1 through November 10, 2024. Tickets are $20-$84. Discounted preview performances and special rates for patrons under 35, students, seniors, members and family of the military, educators, and groups may be purchased through the Folger Theatre Box Office at (202) 544-7077 or online at www.folger.edu/rj.

Related Programming:

The Pay-What-You-Will performance is on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:30pm. Tickets will be available to the public in-person starting at 5pm. One ticket per person.

Romeo and Juliet creative team members share their perspectives on the production at Creative Conversations: Romeo and Juliet on Friday, October 4 at 6:30pm. This insightful pre-performance discussion is moderated by Folger Theatre’s Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels. $25, with discounts for Folger Subscribers and Members.

Folger Theatre is hosting a Romeo and Juliet Global Majority Affinity Night, on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm, inviting Black, Asian, Latine, MENA, and Indigenous-identifying audiences to attend a pre-show conversation and performance this evening, as the Folger joins a growing movement among theaters holding spaces for audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds and affinities.

Join Dr. Margo Hendricks (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Dr. Kathryn Vomero Santos (Trinity University) in a conversation about the play’s themes of race, politics, power, and, of course, love at Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet Pre-Show Talk on Friday, October 11 at 6:30pm. Free; registration required.

Relaxed performances, designed to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for neurodiverse audiences, are Sunday, October 20 at 7:30pm and Wednesday, November 6 at 2pm.

Audience members are encouraged to stay and take part in our interactive Post-Show Discussion with Cast Members of Romeo and Juliet following the 7:30pm performance on Thursday, October 24.

An Audio-described performance of Romeo and Juliet will be performed on Saturday, October 26 at 2pm. The audio description is a narration service that describes the visual aspects of theatre, such as stage directions, making the visual into an auditory experience for audience members with visual impairments, low vision and Blind audience members.

Folger Theatre is hosting a LGBTQ+ Affinity Night, dedicated to celebrating and honoring the LGBTQIA+ community. Taking place on Wednesday, October 30 at 6pm, this special event invites members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community to come together for an evening of inclusivity, camaraderie, and theater. The performance of Romeo and Juliet begins at 7:30pm.

“Is the Day So Young?” Gen Z Finds a Seat at the Table discussion is on Saturday, November 2, 6-7pm. This panel session will include youth activists, high school students, and college students discussing topics around civic participation, mental health and anxiety, and what are the challenges for planning for the future in 2024. Tickets are $25, with discounts available for subscribers and members and available on folger.edu.

Open-Captioned performances are Sunday, November 3 at 2pm and 7:30pm. Open-captioned performances are supported by Vinton and Sigrid Cerf.

Other related programming will be offered throughout the run of the production. Please check the Folger website at www.folger.edu/rj for a complete list of related programming and events.

About the Cast:

Gabriel Alejandro (Paris) Folger Theatre: The Cuban Vote; Devil’s Isle Shakespeare Co.: As You Like It; Prologue Theatre: Marjorie Prime; Keegan Theater: The Wilting Point; Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy: Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Pericles, Twelfth Night; Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: As You Like It, The Oresteia. International: Odin Teatret: Barter; Sine Qua Non Art: Kommos; CBA Santurce: Mujeres del Alba; CBA Humacao: Sueños de Colores. @galejandro

Brandon Carter (Friar Lawrence) Folger Theatre: debut. Regional: Virginia Repertory Theatre: Shakespeare in Love, The Christians; American Shakespeare Center: Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Henriad, Pass Over; Luna Stage: The Brothers Size. Off-Broadway: Classical Theatre of Harlem: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Three Musketeers; National Black Theatre: Blood at the Root; The Apollo Theatre: The First Noel. International Tour: Blood at the Root (Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation Prize). www.brandoncarter.actor. @Mistercart3r

Giovanna Alcântara Drummond (Mercutio) Folger Theatre: debut; Yale Repertory Theatre: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University includes: The Winter’s Tale, Fucking A, Marys Seacole, Bodas de Sangre. Film: Bea, Seriously. NYU: Theater and Journalism, BFA; Yale University: Acting, MFA. Recipient of the 2024 Carol Finch Dye Award in acting. @giodrumm

John Floyd (Benvolio) Folger Theatre: Our Verse in Time to Come, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Timon of Athens, Antony & Cleopatra, Davenant’s Macbeth; Mosaic Theatre Company: One in Two; Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol; Contemporary American Theatre Festival: What Will Happen to All That Beauty. www.johnfloydactor.com. @john.floyd

Alina Collins Maldonado (Tybalt) Folger Theatre: King John; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Everybody, Much Ado About Nothing; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: BLKS; GALA Hispanic Theatre: Native Gardens (Helen Hayes nomination), El Paso Blue, Mariela en el desierto, Los empeños de una casa; Ford’s Theater: Something Moving; The Kennedy Center: Where Words Once Were, Digging Up Dessa; 1st Stage: Secret Things, The Good Counselor. Imagination Stage: Smartest Girl in The World, Robin Hood; Forum Theater: How We Got On, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Artistic Residencies: Eaton DC 2024, The Clarice Smith Artist in Residence 2021-2022, NextLOOK Artist 2020. www.alinacollinsmaldonado.com.

Tony Nam (Lord Montague) Folger Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure; Arena Stage: Exclusion, Akeelah and the Bee; Everyman Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Bookclub Play, Dial M for Murder, Sense and Sensibility, Cry it Out, Murder on the Orient Express, Everything is Wonderful, Aubergine; Ford’s Theater: Our Town; Mosaic Theater: Sooner/Later, Theory; Olney Theatre Center: Our Town, Aubergine; The Kennedy Center: Where Words Once Were, A Cricket in Time Square, Unleashed; Round House Theatre: Treasure Island; Seattle Children’s Theatre: The Red Badge of Courage; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Othello, Pericles; TheatreWorks: Pacific Overtures; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, BA; University of Washington, MFA. Everyman Theatre Resident Company Member.

Luz Nicolas (Nurse) Folger Theatre: debut. GALA Theater: The Palacios Sisters, Bathing in Moonlight, Native Gardens, The Troublemaker (Helen Hayes Award), The House of the Lagoon, Doña Rosita the Spinster, Aunt Julia and the Playwright, Cervantes, The Last Quixote (Helen Hayes nomination), Yerma (Helen Hayes nomination), Mariela in the Desert. Abyss, Miami and Madrid: Alice in Costa Rica, The Kennedy Center: “Iberian Mystics”; Single Carrot Theatre: The VIP; Theatre Project: The Final Draw; Repertorio Español: Exquisite Agony (HOLA/ACE Award); IATI Theater: An Invisible Piece of this World; Alcazar Theater, Madrid: The Merchant of Venice, The House of Bernarda Alba.

Caro Reyes Rivera (Juliet) Folger Theatre: debut. Yale: Hamlet, title role in Yale’s first ever bilingual Shakespeare production. Yale Repertory Theatre: Mojada, Ruzante. David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, BFA. Recipient of the Jerome L. Green Fellowship and the Schubert Scholarship.

Todd Scofield (Lord Capulet) Folger Theatre: The Tempest, Hamlet, Cyrano, Othello, Henry VIII, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and others; Arena Stage: Holiday, City of Conversation, Sovereignty; Shakespeare Theatre Company: King Lear, Our Town, Richard III, and others; Round House Theatre: Ink, Oslo, The Book of Will, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and others; Signature Theatre: Ragtime; The Kennedy Center: Mister Roberts. Additional work includes productions at Theater J, Studio Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Everyman Theatre. Regional: Arden Theatre Company: Freud’s Last Session; PlayMakers Repertory Company; Charlotte Repertory Theatre; and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Television: recurring role in seasons 3 and 5 of The Wire.

Deidra LaWan Starnes (Chorus/Prince) Folger Theatre: Amadeus, Julius Caesar, King Lear; Shakespeare Theatre Company: The Amen Corner, Much Ado About Nothing (Free for All); 1st Stage: Postcards from Ihatov, Shutter Sisters, Mlima’s Tale, The Mamalogues, The Member of the Wedding; Studio Theatre: Radio Golf, Passing Strange, In the Red and Brown Water, The Old Setter, Seven Guitars; Olney Theatre Center: Stuff Happens, Doubt (Helen Hayes nomination), A Raisin in the Sun; African Continuum Theatre: Intimate Apparel (Helen Hayes Award), Gingham Dog, Spunk (Helen Hayes nomination). Regional: Huntington Theatre Company: The Invisible Man. Off-Broadway: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf. Film: Nocturnal Agony, Ladder 49.

Fran Tapia (Lady Capulet) Folger Theatre: debut. GALA Theater: On Your Feet! (Helen Hayes and BWW Awards), Revoltosa (Helen Hayes Award), Mummy in the Closet; Evita’s Return, In the Heights. Broadway National Tour: On Your Feet! International credits include productions in her home country of Chile: Cats, Tirana; Germany: Emergenz; Germany, France, Netherlands, Chile: Rite of Spring. @franciscatl

Cole Taylor (Romeo) Folger Theatre: debut. National Black Theatre: The First Deep Breath. Syracuse Stage: I & You; Indiana Repertory Theatre: Pipeline; Echo Theater Company: Handjob; Film and television: Amazon Prime: Strive; Peacock: Saved by the Bell New York University, MFA.

Renee Elizabeth Wilson (Lady Montague) Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses, Nell Gwynn, Julius X; Mosaic Theater Company: Monumental Travesties (World Premiere), Native Son, Milk Like Sugar; Theater J: Intimate Apparel; Round House Theatre: Radio Golf, Nollywood Dreams; Constellation Theatre Company: Moon Man Walk; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Ain’t No Mo’; Imagination Stage: The Hula Hoopin Queen (World Premiere); Studio Theatre: Skeleton Crew, Doubt, White Noise; Arena Stage: Tempestuous Elements (World Premiere), Seven Guitars. Regional: Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse: Miss Maybelline’s Nocturnal Flights of Fancy (World Premiere); International: Red Shoes (World Premiere). Film: Smoke Out, Veracity. @actpoetic88

About the Creative Team:

Raymond O. Caldwell (Director) Folger Theatre: Rap Monologues. Work at regional theaters includes Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage, Mosaic Theater, The Kennedy Center, National Players/Olney Theatre Center, Solas Nua, CulturalDC, African Continuum, and the Hegira. Theater Alliance: former Producing Artistic Director. Howard University: former faculty and resident director. Arena Stage: former Community Engagement Director. Raymond has partnered and worked with artists, activists, nonprofits, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the world. In partnership with the US Department of State and Contact Base (a cultural NGO based in West Bengal) he developed A GLOBAL I.D.E.A. with 23 artists and activists from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and the US that explored what Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility mean on the global stage. He has done similar work throughout the US, India, Ukraine, and Croatia. University of Florida, Acting, BFA; The Ohio State University: Acting/New Play Development, MFA.

Tiffany Quinn (Choreographer) Folger Theatre: debut; Signature Theatre: Passing Strange (Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography in a Musical); Creative Cauldron: Diagnosed; The Kennedy Center: Look Both Ways, Show Way: The Musical, Beastgirl, Earthrise; Theater Alliance: A Chorus Within Her, The Blackest Battle, Blood at the Root (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Play); Imagination Stage: Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth; Shakespeare Theatre Company: The Winter’s Tale (Assistant to the Choreographer); National Players Tour: The Diary of Anne Frank; Mosaic Theater: Les Deux Noirs; Solas Nua: The Frederick Douglass Project; The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Dancing Spirit (Assistant to the Choreographer); PHILADANCO! For Truth (Assistant to the Choreographer); Howard University: The Trojan Women, The Children’s Hour, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Montgomery Community College: In the Heights; University of Maryland, Baltimore County: The Mail Order Bride. Performance credits: Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company, B.Moore Dance, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Francine E. Ott/The Walk. Howard University: Dance Arts, BFA.

Jonathan Dahm Robertson (Scenic Designer) Folger Theatre: debut. The Kennedy Center: Look Both Ways; Signature Theatre: Passing Strange; Round House Theatre: Nollywood Dreams; Theater J: Two Jews Walk into a War, The Christians; Mosaic Theater: The Agitators, Oh God!; 1st Stage: The Mamalogues, Member of the Wedding, The Nance; Theater Alliance: Day of Absence, Blood at the Root; American Stage: Indecent; The Barnstormers : Into the Woods; Cape Fear Regional Theater: Wait Until Dark; OPERA: The Princeton Festival: Nixon in China, Fidelio, Peter Grimes; Opera in the Heights: Candide, Un Ballo En Maschera, Cosi Fan Tutte. www.jdahmrobertson.com @jdahmrobertson

Jeannette Christensen (Costume Designer) Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses (Associate Costume Designer), Our Verse in Time to Come, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Associate Costume Designer), Amadeus (Associate Costume Designer). GALA Hispanic Theatre: On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan (World Premiere in Spanish; Helen Hayes Award Outstanding Costume Design); The Kennedy Center/ Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Show Way. Work at other theaters includes Olney Theatre Center; Round House Theatre; Wolf Trap Opera; Studio Theatre. Work at regional theaters includes American Players Theatre; Oklahoma City Repertory Theater; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; American Stage; The Muny. National tour: Show Way, On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. Arizona State University, Design & Production, BA; University of Maryland, Design, MFA; Maryland Institute College of Art, Business of Art & Design, MPS (Graduating Sept. 2024). jchristensendesign.com.

Alberto Segarra (Lighting Designer) – Folger Theatre: debut. Theatre J: The Hatmaker’s Wife, Two Jews Walk into a War; 1st Stage: The Nance; Solas Nua: The Honey Trap (Helen Hayes Award); Olney Theatre Center: Lend Me a Soprano, The Joy That Carries You (Helen Hayes nomination); Signature Theatre: Passing Strange; Theater Alliance: Blood at the Root (Helen Hayes Award); The Kennedy Center: Look Both Ways (Helen Hayes nomination); Keegan: Sweat; Imagination Stage: A Year of Frog and Toad. Recent regional credits: Village Theatre: Camelot: The Musical; Alley Theatre: Jane Eyre; Cleveland Play House: Three Musketeers, What the Constitution Means to Me; Hangar Theatre Company/Portland Stage: The Great Leap; Alliance Theatre: Business Ideas; Constellation Theatre Company: Constellation. University of Maryland, MFA. albertosegarra.com.

Matthew M. Nielson (Sound Designer and Composer) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet; Arena Stage: Nina Simone: Four Women; Ford’s Theatre: The Carpetbagger’s Children; Round House Theatre: Oslo, Book of Will; Theater Alliance: Mnemonic (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Sound Design); Olney Theatre Center: Mary Stuart, The Magic Play; Regional: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: Last Wide Open, Treasure Island, Misery; Portland Center Stage: Astoria, Parts 1 & 2, The Color Purple; Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Anna Karenina; Actor’s Theatre of Louisville: Dracula; Milwaukee Repertory Theater : Two Trains Running, Peter and the Starcatcher; Baltimore Center Stage: Shakespeare In Love; Off-Broadway: 59E59 Theatres: Occupied Territories; Lincoln Center Theater: Where Words Once Were; Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival:  Shakespeare’s Villains; Film: From Hell To Here, Elbow Grease, Blue, The Long Road, Little Lamb; TV: The Hero Effect, EPIX Drive-In,  Facebook,  Delivery.com,  NFL,  UFC on FOX. Nielson has won five Helen Hayes Awards and has been nominated for several others, including the League of CincinnatiTheatres,  Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, and BroadwayWorld nominations.  CuriousMusic.com

Kelly Colburn (Projection and Multimedia Designer) Folger Theatre: debut; 1st Stage: Postcards from Ihatov; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: My Mama and The Full Scale Invasion; Signature Theatre: Passing Strange; Kennedy Center: Look Both Ways; Roundhouse and Olney Theatre Center: Fela!. New York Theatre Workshop: american (tele)visions. 2020 and 2023 Helen Hayes Recipient, 2022 – 23 Helen Hayes Award Nominee, ‘23 Lucille Lortel Awards and Henry Hewes Nominee, 2018 Jim Henson Puppetry Grant, ‘17 NextLOOK Resident. Flying V: Executive Director. New York University, BFA; University of Maryland, MFA. www.kellycolburn.com

Amy Kellett (Props Designer) Folger Theatre: debut; Studio Theatre: Love, Love, Love, The Colored Museum, Fun Home, The Hot Wing King; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Incendiary; Rep Stage: Falsettos, Things That Are Round; Theater Alliance: The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company, This Girl Laughs.., Do You Feel Anger?, The Blackest Battle, Day of Absence; Theater Alliance and the Kennedy Center TYA co-production: Look Both Ways; American Stage: The Figs; 1st Stage: Postcards from Ihatov, The Mamalogues; Constellation Theatre Company: Desperate Measures, Moon Man Walk, Orlando, Once On This Island; Faction of Fools: The Moors; NextStop Theatre Company: An Act of God; ArtsCentric: Dreamgirls, Rent; Pointless Theatre Company; Visions of Love, Rite of Spring, Don Cristobal, King Ubu; Gala Hispanic Theatre: Príncipe y Príncipe, Que Las Hay, Las Hay; The Hub Theatre: American Spies…,The Burn, The Late Wedding, Peekaboo!; Howard Community College: Percy Jackson, Heathers, She Kills Monsters; Synetic Theater: The Three Musketeers, A Tale of Two Cities; Baltimore Center Stage: Young Playwrights Festival 2022 (set and props).

Caleen Sinnette Jennings (Adaptor) Folger Theatre: Rap Monologues. Playwright: Queens Girl Trilogy: Queens Girl in the World, Queens Girl in Africa, Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains; Round House Theatre: Homebound. Arena Stage: May 22, 2020; The 51^st State. The Kennedy Center: commission, Darius & Twig.  Dramatic Publishing Service has published eight of her plays, and her work has appeared in seven play anthologies. She has received playwriting awards from the Kennedy Center and Actors Theatre of Louisville.  She is currently writing the book for a new musical on the life of famous black contralto Marian Anderson. American University: Professor Emerita, Theatre. The Welders: Founder.

Carla Della Gatta (Dramaturg) Folger Theatre: Debut. Academic appointment: Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland. Publications: Latinx Shakespeares: Staging US Intracultural Theater; co-editor of Shakespeare and Latinidad; online theatre archive, LatinxShakespeares.Org. Service: Steering Committee for the Latinx Theatre Commons, board member for Shakespeare Survey and the Arden series, Shakespeare and Social Justice. Two-time Folger fellowship recipient. www.carladellagatta.com

Rosa Gabay López (Translator and Interpreter) Folger Theatre: debut. Published translations: La lucha por la existencia en la sociedad humana, Thomas Henry Huxley;  El Mercado de los duendes de Cristina Rosetti y la pintura prerrafaelita: Correspondencias formales y revisión de la feminidad. Madeleine A. Vala; La ciudad realizable de Platón: El uso racional de las creencias y de la imaginación en la política. HYPNOS, São Paolo, No. 28.1 (2012). Certified Medical Interpreter. University of Puerto Rico, MA. Thesis project for MA in translation, Sala de espera, The Waiting Room by Lisa Loomer.

Kaja Dunn (Resident Intimacy Director) Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses, The Winter’s Tale, Our Verse In Time To Come (The Reading Room Festival); Arena Stage: American Prophet; Denver Center for the Arts: Choir Boy, 5thAve; ACT Theatre (Seattle): Choir Boy; St. Louis Rep.: Private Lives, Confederates; Two River Theatre: Wine In The Wilderness; Penumbra Theatre: Sugar In Our Wounds; Broadway: A Strange Loop (Assoc. Intimacy Director); Television: The Best Man, Final Chapters, Harlem, The Equalizer; Awards: Kennedy Center American Theatre Award, Playwrights Project Excellence in Arts Education; Publications: Arden Contemporary Shakespeare, Intimacy Direction For Theatre, Theatre Symposium, HowlRound. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (UK). Carnegie Mellon University: Associate Professor.

Robb Hunter (Fight Choreographer) Folger Theatre: debut. Shakespeare Theatre Company: King Lear (Helen Hayes Nomination), Richard III (Helen Hayes Nomination), Othello, The Oresteia, Salomé; Arena Stage: Catch Me If You Can, Ruined, Noises Off; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Teenage Dick, Gloria, HIR (Helen Hayes Award), An Octoroon (Helen Hayes Nomination); Studio Theatre: Vietgone, Red Speedo (Helen Hayes Nomination), Walworth Farce (Helen Hayes Nomination); Olney Theatre Center: Lend Me a Soprano, Beauty and the Beast, Singin’ in the Rain; Signature Theatre: Masterpieces, 4380 Nights, Passion; Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, 110 in the Shade; Regional: The Cape Playhouse: Camelot, Baskerville; Huntington Theatre: Teenage Dick, Invisible Man; Television: Spin City (stunt double, Michael J. Fox). AEA and SDC member. www.RobbHunter.org. @DCFightDirector

Kate Murray, CSA (New York Casting Director) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale. Kate is a casting director for the Public Theater in New York where she casts Shakespeare, new plays, and musicals. Broadway: Hell’s Kitchen, Suffs, Fat Ham, Ain’t No Mo’, for colored girls…, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, A Delicate Balance, A Raisin in the Sun.

Tori Schuchmann (Production Stage Manager) Folger Theatre: Rap Monologues (The Reading Room Festival 2024); Constellation Theatre Company: Orlando, The School for Lies, Once on This Island; Imagination Stage: Inside Out and Backwards; Theater J: Tiny Lights; IN Series Opera: The Return of Ulysses; University of Maryland: Dance²; Arts on the Horizon: The Laundromat Show. Production Manager of Andy’s Summer Playhouse in New Hampshire and the Senior Project Manager for ViDCo (Virtual Design Collective).

Ebony Gennes (Assistant Stage Manager) Folger Theatre: debut; Theater J: The Chameleon; Olney Theatre Center: Lend Me a Soprano; Cumberland Theatre: The Outsiders, Company, Rock of Ages, True West, Clue. Academic: It’s a Wonderful Life, Ricochet Dance Concert. Education: Frostburg State University, BS. Instagram: @EbonyGennes

Production Sponsors:

Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet is supported by the Share Fund, and made possible in part by the generous support of:

Premier Season Sponsors — Dr. Bill and Evelyn Braithwaite and Andrea “Andi” Kasarsky

Season Sponsors — Helen and David Kenney and Family

Production Sponsors — Nancy and Steve Howard

Contributing Sponsors — Louis and Bonnie Cohen, Gail Kern Paster, Ian Vance, and Scott & Liz Vance

Associate Sponsors — Timothy J. Carlton, Rick Kasten, and Peter and Mary Jay Michel

Artist Sponsors – Karl K. and Carrol Benner Kindel

Open-Captioned Performance Sponsors — Vinton and Sigrid Cerf 

About Folger Shakespeare Library and Folger Theatre:
       

The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a place where curiosity and creativity are embraced, and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from path-breaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger welcomes everyone to connect in their own way—from communities throughout Washington, DC, to communities across the globe. Following a multiyear building renovation, the Folger’s historic Capitol Hill home reopened to the public on June 21, 2024.

The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation’s capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today’s artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be.

Learn more at www.folger.edu.

Press Performance:
 
Members of the press who wish to attend the production of Romeo and Juliet are invited to a press performance on Sunday, October 6 at 7:30pm. Please reserve tickets through Colleen Kennedy, Senior Communication Manager, or Peter Eramo, Jr., Folger’s Events Publicity & Marketing Manager, by September 27th via email at press@folger.edu.  

# # #